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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29456442">this heart is burning up!</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/velvet_plush/pseuds/velvet_plush'>velvet_plush</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Virtual Streamer Animated Characters, holoMyth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A Little Existential, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Multi, its polymyth time baby</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 13:26:56</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>13,583</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29456442</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/velvet_plush/pseuds/velvet_plush</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Rumor has it that a true love’s kiss breaks curses. Amelia Watson requires four.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Gawr Gura/Watson Amelia (hololive), Mori Calliope/Watson Amelia, Ninomae Ina'nis/Watson Amelia (hololive), Takanashi Kiara/Watson Amelia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>42</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>283</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>this heart is burning up!</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was originally a birthday fic for Watson, that got pushed wayyyyy back, lol. But hey! It’s okay, now it’s a celebratory 1 mil and (late) Valentine’s Day fic. </p>
<p>Many thanks to both k_morpho and matchasnow for the beta. Extended notes and thank you's at the bottom.</p>
<p>Edit: Important formatting corrections. Apologies to the early crowd.</p>
<p>Title taken from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPedH9B8AAE">Walk The Moon - Tightrope</a></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The mystery begins like this:</p>
<p>She stands at a crossroad at 9:03 PM, puffing white clouds from the chill of winter and her nose as red as the crosswalk lights. In one hand she has a phone, pulling it out of her pocket as it vibrates, and in the other a grocery bag. Items of interest include:</p><ol>
<li>A bottle of Moet champagne.</li>
<li>A lemon plant.</li>
<li>A set of feather earrings.</li>
<li>A cursed magic 8 ball.</li>
</ol>
<p>And Amelia Watson’s Time Travel Pocket Watch™, boiling hot inside the inner pocket of her coat, the hands of the clock clicking in place, unmoving.</p>
<p>From Ina:<br/>
<em> There’s no easy way to say this, so don’t panic; I’m doing my best to look into it! But... </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> Watson...are you aware something’s trying to kill you?  </em></p>
<p>Yes, this is how it starts, with Amelia’s heart pounding anxiety underneath city skylines, stepping onto the crosswalk when the pedestrian signal turns green, hands trembling as she sends the text that sets the night alight with frenzy:</p>
<p>From Watson:<br/>
<em> 😎 dw i totally got this </em> <em><br/>
</em> <em> meet me in the park @ 11:30? </em></p>
<p>Her ears catch the screech of car tires, of people screaming, scattering. Smells the scent of burning rubber. She looks up; headlights careen straight for her as horns blare, the panicked horror of the driver’s face clear through his windshield.</p>
<p>Time slows to a crawl. She doesn’t bother reaching for her watch, doesn’t panic. But one fraction of a second stretches to two, two to three, three to where the hell is— </p>
<p>She’s yanked by the back of her coat mere inches before the truck barrels past where her body would have been, so close that it whips up her clothes and bangs in the wind. Amelia exhales a sigh of relief, one hand held onto her hat.</p>
<p>“Hey watch where the fuck you’re going, asshole!” Calli shouts after him, her booming voice barely audible over the sound of the truck driver’s horn before they drop into a world of shadow and monochrome: Calli’s cloak effect. The people around them lose interest in the scene quickly, confusion swelling and dissipating like a snuffed candle.</p>
<p>Calli had caught Amelia like a fish, scythe hooked through the shoulders of her coat with her feet dangling off the ground. In an impressive display of dexterity, Calli spins Amelia around until they make eye contact.</p>
<p>Amelia salutes Calli with a two-fingered wave and a smile. “Calli! Perfect timing. Roadkill is not a good look for me.”</p>
<p>Calli’s expression shifts from her previous anger to something more wry and worried, then settles upon a blank neutral. A developed poker face, smooth as stone, the one she presents to people before she takes their souls; Amelia would know.</p>
<p>“It’s not really a good look for anyone, no, but I’m not here to discuss your wardrobe,” Calli says, semi-bemused in spite of herself. “Your fate’s been f’d up this entire week dude, but for once, Death-sensei is convinced you’re supposed to die tonight. What mess did you get yourself into this time?” </p>
<p>There’s a small break in composure; the smooth planes of her face are disrupted by the twitch in her brow and a camera shutter of worry in her eyes, there and gone in an instant. </p>
<p>Amelia grins. “Technically not <em> my </em> mess. You know the curse of homewrecker Grandma Watson? The one that’s supposedly going to be passed down for generations to come?”</p>
<p>The cogs in Calli’s head start turning even before Amelia continues. </p>
<p>“So turns out! It’s a little more murder-y than any of us expected. Ina says it’s supposed to kill me once it hits midnight tonight, but it’s been trying <em> really </em> hard this whole week.” She counts them on her fingers: “Stray dogs, lightning strikes, loose scaffolding, pianos,” Amelia gestures to the road behind them, “trucks, but that one was pretty boring.”</p>
<p>Calli pinches the bridge of her nose. “So… your… cuckold grandma has been getting you Final Destionation’d from a curse decades of years old. Fantastic.” She exhales a suffering sigh. “No wonder you’ve been more of a pain in the ass than usual.”</p>
<p>Amelia tips her hat with a wink. “All in a week’s work.”</p>
<p>“Shove it. I’ll throw you back into the street myself.”</p>
<p>“Calliope Mori? Threatening to kill people? Murder’s not a part of the soul-reaping job description, you know.”</p>
<p>“I prefer to think of it more as debt collection, for every single other time you escaped from me, you know,” Calli says dryly.</p>
<p>Their cat and mouse game has been strung along for years at this point, along fractures of moments sliced from the centuries that Amelia ghosts her way into, swaying pink hair a permanent fixture in her peripheral with every reset of a witch burning, cultist fighting, serial killer killing encounter.</p>
<p>Some things about Calli never change. The bags under her eyes are dark, sunken in, skin pallid and almost translucent in the monochrome city. Exhaustion clings like death to her form, but none of it reflects in her posture or face. So regal, and overworked as always, but still making time for one of the only people who disrupts her tight schedule, in this century or any other. She cares more than she’s allowed to, more than she allows herself to admit.</p>
<p>Amelia yearns to touch; solidify Calli in her hold. She tamps down the urge, a smile playing on her lips. “Why didn’t you let me die, then?”</p>
<p>Calli pauses. A break in script; Amelia doesn’t usually push back. Her eyes glow brighter for a brief moment, peering through Amelia rather than at her. “I’m ensuring you’re on time. Midnight—not a second before or after.”</p>
<p>“Early for a midnight date, aren’t you. Only shinigami in town tonight? Is no one else stepping up to bat?”</p>
<p>Calli smiles at her, bland, lacking any proper emotion. “I like keeping tabs on the troublesome ones. It’s a part of the job.”</p>
<p>“You’re a better reaper than you are a liar.”</p>
<p>Amelia’s more barbed than usual, replies hooked with thorns, their easy, comforting banter turned on its side. It makes her stomach churn, nauseating. It also chips away at Calli’s facade— Calli stares at her, frowning, re-examining the conversation and gleaming whatever she could out of Amelia’s own persona. </p>
<p>She’s concerned, in her own way: “Are you legitimately complaining about me saving your ass right now?”</p>
<p>“I’m just making sure you aren’t getting in trouble, poking your nose into case files not meant for you, you <em> sly </em> dog.” Amelia flicks a limp wristed hand at Calli. “Besides, I knew you had a soft spot for me—Uncle! Uncle! I give, I give, pull me back!”</p>
<p>Amelia struggles to twist her body away from the streets returning to color— until Calli pulls her back, the world dropping to monochrome again; Calli’s actually smiling though, so it’s mission accomplished.</p>
<p>“If you still have enough energy to flail,” Calli says, “I’m just going to assume you have the situation under control. Somehow you’ll be fine, because you always are.” She sets Amelia down on the ground, surprisingly gentle, scythe disappearing in dark smoke, sighing. “Funny. Used to think that death was a lot more immutable before you or Kusotori came around. </p>
<p>Amelia brushes off her outfit, ignoring the scythe holes in her outer coat. “Death is still pretty permanent for everyone else. You just keep eclectic company with us as the handful of exceptions.” She smiles, all sunshine. “We see how hard you work to maintain purgatory because of it. It’s admirable.” </p>
<p>Calli shifts from one foot to another. “Uh. Thanks. It’s easier to work when you like the job and the expectations. Sometimes, though…” She cuts herself short, glancing at Amelia. “Never mind. It’s nothing.”</p>
<p>“... I’m always here to listen if you need someone to talk to.”</p>
<p>Calli shakes her head, resolution final. “It’s nothing.” Her professionalism slips on like a mask, leaving no room for argument. Posture straight, expression flat. Amelia bites the inside of her cheek to keep from frowning. “I’ll see you again at midnight. Or not. It’d be easier if you died on time, for once, but making it easier on me was never a part of your modus operandi.”</p>
<p>The deflection was expected, but still disappointing. Amelia doesn’t let it deter her determination. “Making it harder on you is more of an unintended side effect than anything else. But, still. Guilty as charged. I’m sorry. I got you something? As a sort-of apology gift.” </p>
<p>Gratifyingly, Calli is completely caught off-guard after she’s handed the wine bottle. The dent in Amelia’s pocket is worth it when Calli turns back to her and forgets to blink the stars out of her eyes for just a second too long.</p>
<p>“I… appreciate this,” Calli says slowly. “I haven’t had the chance to relax in a while, and all of my drinks have been running low. So thanks. Really. But this entire meeting has been sus as fuck. The truck thing was careless, you’re acting weird, and now that you’re basically bribing me…” Her eyes narrow. “Spit it out. What do you want.”</p>
<p>If the truck was the mystery’s hook, then this was the intrigue. </p>
<p>Amelia slow claps, heart tripping in her chest. “Very nice findings, Mori-arty. Because I need… a favor.”</p>
<p>The truth is? Amelia’s been nervous since before she stepped onto the crosswalk, before the truck missed grinding her to paste, and even now every nerve remains alight, hummingbird pulse in her chest. </p>
<p>The pent-up energy makes her restless, Amelia picks a direction and starts walking. Calli grumbles something under her breath, still falls into step at her side. Though the cloak should protect them, Calli takes Amelia by the sleeve to tug her away from potential dangers, draws them closer together; a phantom of a touch, but the fold of fabric against skin lingers. </p>
<p>Amelia clears her throat, feels just as weightless as when Calli had her at the end of her scythe. “Rumor has it that a true love’s kiss breaks curses.”</p>
<p>Calli stares at her. Amelia knows her smile reads as too awkward, pace too quick for the words to register as a mild, off-hand comment. </p>
<p>“... Okay,” Calli says slowly. “I do work in the fates, but if you’re trying to find your soulmate you’ve got the wrong department.” </p>
<p>Amelia wags a finger. Her heart pounds terribly loud. “Not quite. I already know my soulmate. Soul<em> mates</em>, plural.” She tugs the rim of her hat down to her eyes, smile never leaving. “So...I...Ina says that my fate with everyone— you, her, Kiara, Gura—our fates are intertwined.”</p>
<p>Amelia’s nerves make her hiccup, she kicks at a stone on the road. “So, ah. I need to kiss everyone. And I… really, <em> really </em>like you, too. Yeah.”</p>
<p>Silence falls upon them. Amelia risks a glance to the side. </p>
<p>This is something she commits to memory; Calli’s twice blink of incomprehension, the sliver of realization that crosses along her face, and how it’s the match-spark that sets her cheeks alight in crimson, spreading like a fire to the rest of her face, hand covering her mouth like she’s trying to contain the blush.</p>
<p>Maybe Amelia does take a little pride in someone so noble looking so off-kilter, but her face isn’t doing much better from the way she feels it burn. “Say something. You’re starting to scare me, Calli.”</p>
<p>Calli exhales a shaky breath. “I need a fucking drink.” </p>
<p>Amelia laughs, turns them down another, quieter path with a bridge overpass, river passing  underneath, dark shadows of people passing by. “Now you know what the wine was for.”</p>
<p>“Listen, Amelia,” Calli starts, hesitates. “Death’s apprentices really aren’t allowed to… fraternize with the living supposed-to-be dead.”</p>
<p>Amelia holds a hand over her heart. “Believe in the power of friendship, Calli. Activate that latent necrophiliac I know resides within you.”</p>
<p>“... If I throw your body off this bridge, you wouldn’t have a curse to worry about at all.”</p>
<p>“Never mind, you can keep it latent.”</p>
<p>Amelia laughs, darts just out of Calli’s reach a few feet ahead and maintains the distance. </p>
<p>“Death help me, I’m developing a Watson-sized migraine,“ Calli mutters, rubbing her temple. “Look, we can cash-in a favor. You have enough goodwill from me to help you break this curse. That’s it. I appreciate that you like me, but for the sake of us both, I think we’re better off as... what the hell are you doing.” </p>
<p>Amelia quirks a smile at her, overriding that animal instinct telling her to stay as far away from dangerous scenarios as possible, and hops up on the wooden safety railing of the bridge. Calli stiffens as soon as she sits down. Somehow the deadened sounds of the rushing river amp up, more noticeable with the heartbeat in Amelia’s ears. </p>
<p>“I get the job thing. Trust me, I do,” Amelia says, kicking her legs a little. Time travel comes with its own sets of rules and expectations after all; even when she bends them almost to the point of snapping, she has lines she doesn’t cross. “But you really shouldn’t have saved me. It makes your reasoning weaker when we both know I’m more trouble than I’m worth.”</p>
<p>Adrenaline pumps through Amelia’s veins. Calli’s the type of person to need a bigger push to admit what she wants; when push comes to shove comes to straight tackling—  Amelia’s learned as much throughout their time with each other and watching Kiara stoke the embers of Calli’s emotions, push her to become more truthful. </p>
<p>Amelia winks devious, splaying her hands out in front of her. “Look. No hands.” And tips backward. </p>
<p>She’s weightless. For all of two seconds.</p>
<p>Calli yanks her up by her tie, a choked, gasping wheeze forced out of Amelia’s lungs from the pressure on her neck. Their faces are almost inches apart, Calli’s eyes brimming with frustration.</p>
<p>“You are <em> such </em> a fucking asshole. Don’t— <em> leverage </em> my feelings against you to prove a fucking point.”</p>
<p>“Look me in the eye and tell me I’m just another soul to you, another responsibility,” Amelia says, wincing as the pressure on her neck tightens. “And then I’ll say sorry. I’ll drop this if you tell me.”</p>
<p>Red ruby eyes meet sky blue, one determination leveled against another. Calli’s jaw clenches, until Amelia slowly lays a hand over hers. Her breath catches on oxygen she doesn’t need, angry lines of her shoulders sagging.</p>
<p>“You know I can’t,” Calli says, quiet, easing back. “You’re too important. But I… don’t know if I can risk…” Her hand drops, but Amelia’s hand still holds on to hers. Almost thinks Calli would pull away; she doesn’t. The action makes Calli swallow, push past whatever barrier holds her back. </p>
<p>“Death is… structured. Systematic. Everyone dies eventually. But watching you and Kusotori…Kiara doesn’t stay dead, and you just avoid it; you’re both so <em> free</em>. I know you have your own responsibilities, but...” </p>
<p>“They’re a little different,” Amelia says, soft. “I know it’s not the same thing. But I take risks, too when it comes to you guys.”</p>
<p>Carefully, like Calli was molding clay that would turn to some precious pottery, she shapes their hands together, gaze trained on Amelia the entire time, some bittersweet smile on her lips. What’s it like? To break away from even the fates.”</p>
<p>Amelia forces her tongue to move. “I can’t tell you,” she says honestly. “I don’t know how your network would react, what it would mean for you. But I know that nothing in the world up here is meant to be so unchanging. And since you help look after things up here...maybe you can change, too. It just takes a little push, something you really want. Or, something you want to help.”</p>
<p>“Easier said than done.”</p>
<p>“Isn’t everything? Besides, I just have more experience with mutable stuff. Breakfast, dinner, time.” Amelia winks, adjusts her hat, but oddly enough, Calli’s eyes tracks the movement like a moth to lighthouse beacon. Some realization unfurls across her face, her thought process too veiled for Amelia to catch. </p>
<p>“Time being described as ‘‘mutable stuff’ is a pretty terrifying pandora’s box.” Calli says, mildly. She has that worried look on her, the one Amelia thought she reserved for Kiara when the phoenix showed up bloodied and wrecked from whatever adventures she goes on. </p>
<p>“Err. I—I guess? It was just a joke.” </p>
<p>Calli closes her eyes. “Your little push feels more like falling head first off a cliff.”</p>
<p>Amelia feels an ink drop of panic, she has to force herself to keep her hand at her side and not reach into her inside pocket. “Wait, I’m missing something. It’s—it’s okay if you don’t want anything with me, but Kiara…”</p>
<p>Calli wipes away her emotional tells, leaving only determination behind. She takes a deep breath, squeezes Amelia’s hand tighter, almost painful. “You asked me earlier why I saved you. It’s because… watching you makes me strive to work harder, too. That I saved you because I can’t imagine you as anything other than alive, with us. It’s because I love you, and it would have been so much less complicated if it was only platonic.” </p>
<p>Heat crawls along Amelia’s face, ears, heartbeat a steady drum in her ears. She’s speechless. </p>
<p>“I don’t know what I want from this. Not yet. But I know I don’t want your soul, not now at least. So. Congratulations on slipping away. Again.” </p>
<p>“I really like you Calli,” Amelia says. “I’m not doing this to…”</p>
<p>The words die on her lips as Calli cups her cheek. They’re calloused, from years of scythe swinging. Firm, powerful, Amelia lets her eyes flutter shut, leans into the touch as Calli’s thumb runs along her cheek. </p>
<p>“Devotion. The only weapon that cuts more deadly than the scythe,” Calli murmurs, distant. Like she’s recalling a memory from a far away location, beyond Amelia’s reach. “You care too much. It’s okay. We’ll talk afterwards, and I’ll take care of you.”</p>
<p>Amelia smothers the sudden wave of emotion welling in her chest the only way she knows how. “Thank you mommy.”</p>
<p>“I’m going to fucking strangle you.”</p>
<p>Amelia laughs, but her good humor washes away quick as Calli moves closer. Their height difference a little more negligible with Amelia sat upon the railings. Heat crawls up Amelia’s face at the close proximity. </p>
<p>“So this is all it takes to keep you quiet, huh,” Calli says, amused, and before Amelia can respond, she presses their lips together. </p>
<p>Despite Calli’s bravioso, the kiss is still adorably shy at first. Their lips brush only lightly before Calli allows herself to fully commit. Then it’s intoxicating. Sweet, like pomegranates and grapes, and with the way it makes her head spin, her chest throb with burning warmth, no liquor in the world could compare. </p>
<p>Something inside Amelia clicks into place. Like two gears slotting together after years of dormancy, a minute hand moving forward in an ancient grandfather’s clock. Calli gasps, confused, pulling away, only for Amelia to chase after her for another kiss, drunk off the sensation.</p>
<p>Calli’s control over her veil slips; the world melts back from its monochrome, skyscrapers steadily blinking on like the city came alive to watch them. That’s the moment Amelia pulls back, breaths coming harder. The veil comes back up instantaneously, and the illusion fades. </p>
<p>“Okay, that was fucking weird,” Calli says, tongue tracing her bottom lip. “I hope that helped.”</p>
<p>(Amelia feels it. How the gear spins again.)</p>
<p>“Felt like it did, at least.” Amelia tilts her head, kisses Calli’s palm. “That was… nice. Thank you.”</p>
<p>Calli clears her throat, darts her eyes away. “Yeah, whatever. I still have an image to uphold, so try not to make this a habit. Me save your life, I mean.” </p>
<p>Amelia smiles, sheepish. “I make no promises. And I still need something else from you.”</p><hr/>
<p>“Can you give Kiara the heads up about everything? The curse, the kiss, I think it’s better if she hears it from you. Is it okay that we— is she going to be mad?”</p>
<p>Amelia asks after Calli teleports them a short distance away from Gura’s house. The sensation is strangely similar to time travel, the way Amelia feels her mind bend and twist to accommodate the shift in space.</p>
<p>“Glorified bus driver and messenger. Our relationship is really pushing all our usual boundaries huh.” </p>
<p>Amelia cringes. “Ugh, I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you somehow.”</p>
<p>Calli rolls her eyes, squeezes her hand. “I’m joking, you have more important shit to deal with right now. And yes, she’s going to be mad. But we aren’t… we were never dating. It’s complicated.” She sighs, rubbing the back of her neck. “I’ll try and make sure she’s not too pissed.”</p>
<p>Amelia sucks in a breath, disentangling herself from the reaper. “That’s all I can ask for. Thank you Calli.”</p>
<p>Calli steps forward and presses her lips against Amelia’s forehead. “Remember that everyone loves you. Stay safe. Be careful.”</p>
<p>Amelia rubs her forehead, a little flustered. “The curse lessens with each kiss, don’t worry, I’ll be fine.”</p>
<p>Calli smiles. A little fractured. Amelia gets the niggling feeling that she’s still missing something. “You can survive anything. Good luck.”</p>
<p>And her form shudders, puffs, disappears into smoke. </p>
<p>… It’s 9:37 PM. Items of interest include:</p><ol>
<li><strike>A bottle of Moet champagne.</strike></li>
<li>A lemon plant.</li>
<li>A feather earring set.</li>
<li>A cursed magic 8 ball.</li>
</ol>
<p>Amelia begins the walk to Gura’s house, moving quickly to avoid any potential disastrous events. It’s an isolated location, with only grass and fields and an eclectic collection of trees— that Gura planted, and watched grow from sapling to larger sakura and wisteria trunks— for a few miles in one direction, and the beach just a short walk away. It’s a bit lonely by Gura’s admittance, but comfortable. She likes having the space. Amelia hears singing originating from outside the house, and makes her way back into the garden by unlocking the fence. </p>
<p>The garden is actually larger and more organized than Amelia once expected. There’s a variety of vegetables and herbs along the left side of the fence, flowers along the back, fruits to the right next to the dogwood tree, where Gura currently stands, watering her fruit trees with a hose. </p>
<p>Her singing tapers off when she yawns, one hand running through messy hair gleaming white, sticking up in odd tufts in the bright moonlight and amber backlights. Her shoulders are curled in, exhaustion lining her form. </p>
<p>Basically, prime jumpscare time. She’s so tired that she doesn’t hear Amelia creeping up from behind her, not until Amelia is already shoving against her shoulder.</p>
<p>Gura <em> jumps</em>, lets out an ear-splitting scream, whipping around and blasting Amelia with the hose in panic. Amelia laughs, blocking the hit with an arm.</p>
<p>“What the hell Watson!” Gura complains, hand over her heart. “You scared the crap out of me!”</p>
<p>“It was too good of an opportunity! You left your flank wide open.”</p>
<p>Gura scowls and hoses her in the face again. “Because I don’t plan for detectives creeping around in my persimmons!” She suddenly winces, recoiling slightly and cradling her forehead. “Ow. I should not have yelled.” </p>
<p>“Are you okay?” Amelia asks, concerned. “Haven’t you been sleeping poorly lately?”</p>
<p>“Don’t I always? My energy is composed of MickyD’s and nightmares, and the sleep paralysis demon in my closet keeps whispering weird things at night.”</p>
<p>Amelia frowns, stepping closer to fret, maybe, replacing Gura’s hand with her colder one, rubbing the side of Gura’s temple. The shorter woman allows the movement, eyes fluttering shut and leaning into the massage. “He’s telling you to eat more vegetables and knock it off with the kitkats.”</p>
<p>“Ugh, should have known you were in cahoots with him. Alright: hands up where I can see ‘em, buddy, and no one gets hurt.” Gura half-aims the hose right at Amelia’s outer coat, watering it like a plant.</p>
<p>Amelia rolls her eyes. “You’re right. You’ve caught me red-handed, sheriff. Lock me up, I’ve been a bad girl.”</p>
<p>Gura snorts, pulling herself away from Amelia to turn off the faucet next to the fence. “The judge rules that you’ve been sentenced to horny jail for horny crimes. What say you in your defense?”</p>
<p>“I come with a gift. Bribery for the court to reduce my sentence,” Amelia announces, shivering from the cold of the water. At Gura’s distrustful expression, she adds, “no, for real. This is for you.”</p>
<p>She takes out the <strike>potted lemon plant</strike> (but, wait. it isn’t a lemon plant, is it? Gura already has a lemon tree. It’s actually a—) hand-carved, cat designed kalimba, holding it outward.</p>
<p>Gura has to double take to make sure she’s seeing the instrument correctly, eyes flitting between Amelia’s hands and amused smile. Holding her tail ramrod straight, she approaches Amelia and takes the instrument like it was made out of fragile gold.</p>
<p>She thumbs at one of the keys. It rings out soft and resonant in the night.</p>
<p>”This is the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life,“ she whispers. “I love it. Thank you, Ame, I’ll treasure it as long as I live.” </p>
<p>Amelia scuffs her foot along the dirt. “It’s no biggie. I was reminded of you when I saw it. Does this mean I’m out of horny jail?”</p>
<p>Gura contemplates, then slides a grin towards her. “For now, yeah, only because you admitted you think of me a lot.” </p>
<p>“You could get me to admit a lot more.”</p>
<p>Gura’s always been one of the easiest to read among the four. She wears her heart on her sleeve— or tail, with the way it flicks in sudden anxiety right at the tip, body language a thousand words on its own. So when she responds with, “like...you pour in milk before the cereal or something? Frankly, you disgust me,” it’s meant to ground them firmly in the realm of the platonic. </p>
<p>They’ve tightroped along that fine line between friends and lovers for so long that finding its balance is second nature to them. Amelia pushes too far in one direction. Gura pulls her back. Simple, easy. Comfortable enough that things don’t have to change, and they’re stuck juggling the same ‘maybes’ and ‘what ifs’ forever.</p>
<p>Amelia swings an arm over Gura’s shoulders like she’s done so many times before, ruffling up Gura’s already messy hair. “We’ll go with that if it makes you more comfortable.”</p>
<p>It takes a bit of rough-housing, but Amelia drags them both to the ground near the tree trunk, guiding Gura to rest her head against her shoulder, something about the warmth making her relax, melt into Amelia’s side. It’s a wonder she doesn’t hear how fast Amelia’s heart pounds.</p>
<p>They spent hours sitting just like this in the warmer months, carving out halcyon indulgence in dimming sunlight with fireflies and popsicle sticks. The motor that constantly runs in Amelia’s body, pushing her to <em> go go move explore— </em>sputtered out when they were together. </p>
<p>“You’re a lot more cuddly than usual. Are you sure you’re okay?” Amelia murmurs. She almost thinks Gura didn’t hear her, until she hears a slow intake of breath, Gura’s testing of the instrument cut itself short.</p>
<p>“I keep on dreaming of Atlantis.”</p>
<p>Amelia squeezes Gura’s shoulder tighter.</p>
<p>“There’s a lot of things I wish I could have done differently,” Gura says with a light laugh, “but there’s nothing I can do about it. Every time I think I’m over it my subconscious comes in and whacks me with the dream hammer.”</p>
<p>“Did you want to talk about it? Your dreams. Atlantis...”</p>
<p>“I don’t remember much of when it fell,” Gura admits. “Not anymore. It’s kind of fuzzy, but my dreams are… clearer. Gold lava and tectonic plates ripping everything apart. All the pillars and buildings crashing down. Sometimes I think I can smell the blood in the water.</p>
<p>But then I…I’m trying to save someone. I don’t know who. They’re trapped under debris. I’m trying to pull them out… but I get rocked by this huge wave that drags me away. I try to get back, but I blink and it’s all...<em> gone</em>. I try to look for anyone or anything that— remembers, and nothing’s there. It’s all ocean. I’m… so small and it’s all just ocean.”</p>
<p>Gura takes a deep, shuddering breath, grip knuckle-white on her kalimba. Amelia drags her into a hug, Gura burrowing deeper into her side. “Sorry. That’s— I guess that’s kind of stupid. How I’m afraid of the sea.”</p>
<p>“You don’t ever have to apologize for your trauma,” Amelia says, quiet. “It was an awful experience, and all of your fears are rolled into one nightmare. The fear of… loss. Of no connection. The expansiveness of the ocean.” </p>
<p>“The nothingness. The void that’s just there after Atlantis fell.” Gura exhales. “Ina’s got the ancient ones. I got the sea.”</p>
<p>There’s nothing Amelia could say to that. Even something like “I understand how you feel” feels trite. Her endless timeline jumping could never amount to the loss of an entire civilization. So she holds Gura tighter, runs her fingers through white hair, tries to give Gura the grounding she doesn’t have herself.</p>
<p>“That’s not all you have,” Amelia says, trying to lighten the mood. “You have fun sea shanties. The ancient ones don’t have that. ”</p>
<p>Gura exhales a small laugh at her comment. “Can you imagine? Some eldritch creature singing a lullaby.”</p>
<p>“Wouldn’t a pop song be more effective for the whole brainwashing thing?” </p>
<p>“You’re <em> right</em>. Sanity depletion in Katy Perry and four chords. Break out your ukelele, I think I have a fun idea.”</p>
<p>“Not the biggest fan of world domination. You guys can do that on your own.” Amelia brushes Gura’s hair behind an ear. She allows herself this indulgence, fingers running along the edge, Gura shivering slightly under her touch, then traces back to subject. “Would you ever want to go back to Atlantis?”</p>
<p>“I’ve thought about it, but I never went through with it. Like what if all my fears turned out to be real, you know?” A few notes ring out from the instrument in her hands. “But maybe it’d help. To see that it is or isn’t like my dreams. Because then I’d know for sure, then I could move on.”</p>
<p>“Take your time. If you aren’t in the right headspace to know it could mess you up for longer.”</p>
<p>Gura smiles, bittersweet. “I know. I don’t want my nightmares to get worse. It’ll… hurt. But sometimes you need to reset the bone before you can heal.”</p>
<p>Amelia tries to imagine Gura at some clifftop, watching the world pass her by, for years, for centuries. The weight of a civilization bearing down on her shoulders. “If you ever need someone to come with you,” she says, soft. “We’re here. <em> I’m </em> here. You have me, too. I… can take a boat or something. I won’t be that far away.”</p>
<p>Gura glances up at her, her bitter smile turning sweeter, softening her features in the silver light. “You’re real sweet, sunshine. I’ll take you up on that one day. Just so you know, you just volunteered to be my human tissue, tears and snot all over your clothes.”</p>
<p>With those words, the melancholy atmosphere lifts, the air between them a little lighter. Amelia chuckles, “I know what I’m getting myself into. I’ll be there.”</p>
<p>Gura bumps her head against Amelia’s shoulder. “I know. Thanks for listening. It means a lot, hope I didn’t keep you from anything.”</p>
<p>“I always have time for you.” Amelia weighs the words on her tongue. “I just kind of needed something…else. It’s why I dropped by.”</p>
<p>Some mental lightbulb flickers on for Gura. “Oh. Ohhhh. So that’s what this is. You’re being all sweet and showing up with gifts because buttering me up for something, aren’t ‘cha.” Gura expels an over-dramatic sigh, leaning away and shaking her head. “Honestly, kids these days. Only showing up with gifts for their elders when they need something from ‘em.”</p>
<p>Amelia rolls her eyes as Gura flutters a hand up to her ears and cups it. </p>
<p>“Alright, let’s hear it, sunshine. What do you need from your dear old Gurandma? Speak up ‘cause her hearing’s going out.”</p>
<p>“I’m starting to lose track of our roleplays, here,” Amelia says, totally stalling for time. Funnily enough the words are harder to dislodge from her chest without the threat of death looming over her. “But. Uh. Well…”</p>
<p>That’s when the first raindrop hits her, a noticeable drop against her dry shoulder. Amelia flinches hard, whirling her head up to see thunderclouds forming above them where once was a clear sky.</p>
<p>Gura tucks the kalimba close to her chest as more and more droplets start to fall on top of them. “That’s… weird,” she murmurs, brows furrowed in confusion, “it wasn’t supposed to rain today.”</p>
<p>Lightning arches bright in the clouds, furious and unnatural, tracing large, jagged circles around the duo. Amelia’s mouth parts, heart dropping like a stone in her chest. She turned back to Gura, panicked. “Okay. So don’t panic?”</p>
<p>Gura stares at her. “You sound kind of panicked for someone who told me not to panic.”</p>
<p>Gura’s power goes out. They both catch the moment a lightning bolt strikes a few miles off from their area, the bright flash of light followed instantaneously by the booming clap of thunder, shaking Amelia to the core. Ears ringing, she barely hears Gura’s scream from beside her before she’s pulled onto the back porch, rain crashing down harder.</p>
<p>“I might have something to do with this!” Amelia shouts to be overheard over the storm.</p>
<p>Gura matches her volume, throwing a hand barely visible to the outside storm. “Okay? So can you fix it!? Preferably before my entire garden <em> drowns </em>!?”</p>
<p>Amelia swears inwardly, she should have kept her thoughts to herself about death-related recklessness. “My family line is cursed! I need to kiss everyone in our group or else I die at midnight!”</p>
<p>Another lightning bolt strikes with a thunderous boom, like Thor himself slammed down his hammer for Amelia’s death knell. In that brief moment of light Amelia sees the picture perfect capture of Gura’s dumbfounded expression.</p>
<p>“Why is this so… oddly specific? Can’t you have a normal week for once?”</p>
<p>“I’ll explain afterwards, but please,” Amelia says, eyes desperate. “I’m begging you here, don’t make me get on my knees.”</p>
<p>“For the love of all things Atlantis…” Gura sets the kalimba down on the table next to her with a shaky exhale, two fingers pressed against her forehead. Then, faster than Amelia could follow, Gura’s hands whip out to grab Amelia’s lapel and yank her closer, faces inches apart. </p>
<p>Lightning catches in Gura’s eyes, spins conflict in them. In between one blink and the next Gura punches Amelia’s mouth with hers, teeth clacking together hard enough to bring tears to Amelia’s eyes. It’s a kiss only by definition—  an entirely pragmatic affair with Gura’s mouth is firm and unyielding underneath hers. They hold the position for all of two seconds before Gura yanks Amelia back, glancing outside.</p>
<p>(In the back of Amelia’s mind, another gear spins back into motion.)</p>
<p>The rain clears up steadily. The lightning flashes across the sky disperse amongst the rest of the clouds. Water drips down from Gura’s roof, too quiet to mask how hard they’re breathing, but the porch light flickering back on hides nothing, reveals both of their faces crimson bright. </p>
<p>Gura’s hands are still fisted at her coat. Every single emotion is reflected on the surface of her eyes; their carefully preserved balance is tipping over. There’s a tang of blood in Amelia’s mouth, lingering from the kiss.</p>
<p>“Sorry,” Gura whispers. Her hand shakes as she thumbs at the wound on Amelia’s lip. “Forgot you’re fragile.”</p>
<p>Desire crashes like a wave over Amelia. Trembling, she reaches up to cup Gura’s cheek. Shivers run through both their bodies, cold seeping through their skin. </p>
<p>“Gura,” Amelia says, voice raspy, begging her not to balance them on their tightrope again. “That wasn’t how I imagined our first kiss would go.”</p>
<p>“... Me neither,” Gura whispers. There’s a hand sliding to the back of Amelia’s neck, tugging her closer, and— </p>
<p>Gura giggles against her lips when she curses, bending lower to accommodate Gura’s height— and then their lips meet, and it’s perfect. A kiss like the ocean with the salt of the rain, some blanket comfort in being suspended in water and time, the world muted out by the seafoam happiness bubbling in Amelia’s chest when Gura tests a tongue along her bottom lip, apologetic.</p>
<p>They pull away warmer than before. Gura grins nervous but toothy, face flushed, finding Amelia’s hand and squeezing it. “That was a solid nine-point-five out of ten,” she starts, “your technique could use a little more work and a sprinkle less death, but gold star for effort.”</p>
<p>“Hey, your height is not my fault, shortstack. Why don’t you consider growing a few inches before judging other people?“ Amelia asks, before Gura’s disbelieving burst of laughter makes them crack up, both at the ridiculousness of the situation, and how long it took for them to get to this point. </p>
<p>They take a moment to wind down, sitting on the porch. Amelia explains the curse’s effects and the requirements for it to be broken, holding hands the entire time, listening to the leftover rain drops drip from the roof. </p>
<p>“That’s absolutely buck wild,” Gura says once Amelia finishes, “but it makes sense with the whole Watson lore. I’m okay with you dating the others if that’s what you’re worried about? And I’m willing to bet money that everyone else feels the same way.”</p>
<p>Her free hand comes up to pinch Amelia’s cheeks, gushing, “awww, o’ur wittle dewective has a wittle cwush on ev’weybody~ they gwow up so fwast~”</p>
<p>Amelia grabs Gura’s hand and tries to lick her palm, eliciting a scream until Gura yanks her hand away. “Knock it off, Gurandma, don’t make me take away your walker.”</p>
<p>This feels right. The banter, the teasing, their friendship just as comfortable before the kiss and after. Friendship sliding perfectly into something more...Amelia stops, a sudden flare of anxiety in her chest. </p>
<p>Gura gasps. “Why, I never in all my life—”</p>
<p>“We are dating now, right?” Amelia interrupts before Gura could get going, to make certain that Gura didn’t kiss her out of some friendship obligation. Gura nods slowly, her uncertainty assuaged when Amelia continues, “What does that make us? Officially, I mean, what do you want me to call you?” </p>
<p>Privately, there’s a word that already comes to mind for her and Gura’s relationship, though she’s curious as to whether Gura has a preference. </p>
<p>“I don’t really care, it’s whatever you want us to be.” Gura shrugs with a shoulder, tail flicking. “Girlfriend is fine, I guess. And I think I liked your whole soulmates thing?”</p>
<p>Amelia’s chest flutters, but outwardly she sucks in a breath,  raising an eyebrow and adjusting her hat. “That’s kinda gay bro, not gonna lie.”</p>
<p>Gura’s eyes flick up, a small frown on her face, though her tone doesn’t change. “Excuse me, m’aam? Did I or did I not just have my tongue on your mouth.”</p>
<p>“I mean—”</p>
<p>A sound like a sonic boom interrupts them. They both look outside just in time to see a blaze of red soar meteor through the sky with a distant scream of poultry rage. </p>
<p>“...So <em> Kiara’s </em> the actual curse that kills you.” Gura nods, understanding. “Good luck surviving that, chief.”</p>
<p>“Kiara wouldn’t kill me!” Amelia protests immediately. “... I don’t think… ”</p>
<p>“Sure. If it helps you sleep better at night.”</p>
<p>“Your <em> mom </em>helps me sleep better at night.” </p>
<p>“...Really, Watson?” Gura says, a touch exasperated. “I hope you aren’t going to do that with the others. You’d make it a lot easier on yourself if you were just honest more than a quarter of the time.” </p>
<p>The comment hits closer to home than Amelia expects it to, maybe more than Gura intended it to, a bruise that she’d feel in the morning. She laughs anyway— “Ow, okay, that hurt,” and presses a kiss to Gura’s temple as they both stand up. “I’ll keep that in mind. But I really should get leave before… which way to the beach again? I’m going to try and avoid collateral.”</p>
<p>Gura’s face is red from the kiss, cute, points vaguely towards the left. After a moment’s pause, she steps up to kiss Amelia on her cheek. “Next time,” she says, “I’ll try and wear stilts to make it easier on you.” Gura waves her off with a grin. “Better start running, sunshine. She looks <em> mad</em>.”</p>
<p>Amelia grins, tipping her hat towards Gura, and legs it. She calls over her shoulder, “oh yeah! Tell me how you feel about wife!”</p><hr/>
<p>Amelia’s been waiting at the beach for around five minutes, standing knee-deep in the ocean. She shivers non-stop from the wet clothes, the chill of the night finally settling in. It was easier to deal with when she was with Gura. </p>
<p>She glances at her wristwatch; it’s 10:20 PM. A little later than she’d like, the time limit more pressing, but still manageable. Items of interest include— wait<em>. </em> </p>
<p>Oh <em> shit</em>.</p>
<p>What was she, an idiot? She didn’t bring her bag— she must have been too focused on Gura and <strike>didn’t practice enough</strike> completely forgot about it. She must have dropped it when they were next to the tree.</p>
<p>Amelia scrubs a hand over her face, frustration running like blood in her veins at the carelessness. </p>
<p>It’s fine. It’s fine. Is this… something she still wants to fix? She takes her pocket watch out of her pocket. The secondhand twitches in place, locked at 7PM. Grimacing, her thumb hovers over the button, but doesn’t press down.</p>
<p>A sound like a firework going off in the distance interrupts her, she glances up— a ruby-emerald orb shoots across the sky, engulfing every star in its wake, swallowing them up in its comet tail.</p>
<p>Its flight wavers, dips, recalibrating its path— careens down approaching <em> fast </em>at a perfect 90 degree angle, shot down from the sky like an arrow through an angel’s wing— it closes in fast enough that Amelia knows she’s right in the blast radius for the eventual touchdown, and fast enough to know that it’s too late to move.</p>
<p>Amelia braces for impact— head down, arms up, <em>palms facing forward</em> <em>panicked— </em> Kiara slams into the ground, loud like a shotgun fired point-blank. It whips up a sandstorm against Amelia, ripping tears through her clothes and nipping at the skin beneath: arms, stomach, legs, face— it ends just as quickly as it begins. </p>
<p>Amelia’s heart kickdrums in her ears, loud enough to drown out the ocean waves. Something crunches from underneath Kiara’s feet as she shifts, voice sing-song. “Watson~ I think you have some <em> explaining </em> to do~” </p>
<p>Every movement stings. Blood wells along her skin from the bigger cuts. Amelia laughs, raspy, slowly tipping her hat, and bowing into a curtsy. “Explanations are a detective’s specialty. Your wish is my command.”</p>
<p>She stoops back up, suppressing her wince with a smile. The location before her is transmuted, rendered unrecognizable in a matter of seconds; she re-assesses her wounds. Amelia’s always aware of the physical differences between her and the other four, but in terms of immediate, visible prowess, Kiara is in a different league entirely. </p>
<p>Because it wasn’t a sandstorm that hurt her. It was glass. </p>
<p>Kiara stands a little ways away down the beach, a flume of fire blazing from her hair, shoulders, hands. The entire radius around her had melted upon impact and turned to crystal: there’s a ruptured circle beneath her feet, blast zone extending up and outward, encasing her inside with floating shrapnel and debris like a pair of wings; her crown of molten, cherry red sand and jeweled glass, demanding the world to watch her.</p>
<p>It’s a little intimidating, heat running up Amelia’s neck. And a little hot. </p>
<p>“I know what you’re doing,” Kiara says, posing with her hand under her chin. Her eyes glow neon bright, amused, cutting through the dark and ocean steam. “Acting all cute and innocent and kissing my ass. You’re lucky it’s working, or else I’d be very cross with you.”</p>
<p>“Kissing ass is <em> also </em>a detective’s specialty.” Amelia says with a grin, “You can get the full-course meal at discount as long as you aren’t mad at me.”</p>
<p>Kiara sighs, tilting her head, but the corner of her mouth is twitching up. “Well, I guess I can’t say no to a free meal. And I’ve been dying to eat something out recently.”</p>
<p>Amelia laughs— stops when it aggravates her injuries, ow— about to respond before she flinches, something sharp jabbing into her fingers. Opens her palm.</p>
<p>Her pocket watch is broken. A shard of glass had pierced through dead center of the watch, renders it even more useless than it already was. Horror sweeps across her veins like ice. </p>
<p>Oh. Fuck. </p>
<p>She doesn’t have the luxury of time to plan anymore. No more failsafes, no more—<em>anything</em>, what use is her ability if she can’t even get it to work when she needs it the most? </p>
<p>Warm hands cover her own, Amelia flinches back, startles at the sudden proximity and temperature difference, but Kiara’s grip doesn’t loosen. </p>
<p>Hesitantly, Amelia opens her hand again. Kiara hisses at the damage of the watch, but also tilts Amelia’s chin up— all the way, examines the cut along Amelia’s throat. </p>
<p>Her heart had stopped beating, thinking that they were going to kiss right then and there. But her brain quiets down from its spiral, lets Kiara fuss over her by smoothing out the worst of the damage to her clothes.</p>
<p>“Oooh, that looks bad,” Kiara murmurs once she lets go, critically scanning Amelia’s wounds, either ignoring or unaware of Amelia’s brain short-circuiting. “Sorry. About the cuts and the watch. Thought I was far away enough that you wouldn’t get too hurt and figured time was of the essence.”</p>
<p>Somewhat ironic, considering Amelia’s occupation. She tears her eyes away from Kiara— sees the flicker of amusement and something else she can’t identify flash across her face; so definitely aware of Amelia’s feelings. “It doesn’t hurt that bad.” They’re superficial wounds, all of her hurt coalescing to the same dull throb and sting.</p>
<p>Amelia shrugs with a shoulder. “And my luck’s been terrible this entire week, so… the watch was already a little broken. Probably should have been more broken way sooner. Don’t worry about it.”</p>
<p>Kiara pulls Amelia out of the water with a small hum. “Well, you don’t have to worry either, because your curse is getting fixed, right?” They walk side by side along the beach, pace a snail’s crawl when Amelia starts favoring one leg over another, both of them still holding hands.</p>
<p>Her flames are special; they don’t hurt or burn unless she wants them to. A soft, mellowed orange glow flutters, pulses between their joined hands. (It’s hard to resist the urge to wrap herself around Kiara, until the warmth makes its home in her marrow. She squeezes Kiara’s hand tighter, instead.)</p>
<p>“So Calli’s caught you up to speed about everything,” Amelia says. “From the curse, to the kiss…”</p>
<p>“Hm?” Kiara blinks at her, before she gasps dramatically. “Oh! Oh yes, I think she did mention something about how you’re a dirty soulmate-stealing homewrecker.”</p>
<p>“Uhhh?” Amelia stutters out laughter. “I guess it runs in the family? I’m sensing a little hostility here.”</p>
<p>Kiara glances at her, blinking in wide ignorance. “Oh detective, your imagination must be running wild in your pain-fueled haze. Are you feeling unwell?”</p>
<p>Amelia rolls her eyes. “I <em> was </em>just in a rainstorm. Deductive reasoning concludes it’s possible I’m coming down with a fever.”</p>
<p>Kiara’s impact stretches further than Amelia initially thought. The soft crunch of sand beneath them gives way to glittering glass, sand impurities creating a myriad rainbow gleam of colors. A crystal coral reef, like crunching stars wherever they walk.</p>
<p>Kiara grins. “But for real though, Calli didn’t tell me anything else. Absolutely zip, zilch, nothing whatsoever,” she says, almost too casually. </p>
<p>There’s a small delay between one step and the next for Amelia. “Wait, what? What does that mean?” she asks. </p>
<p>“It <em>means</em>. I just know that you needed to kiss Calli,” she sniffles, flicking her head away from Amelia. “And shatter my heart into a thousand pieces while you’re at it.”</p>
<p>That… doesn’t make sense. </p>
<p>“But you knew that time was important,” Amelia says, confused, caught off-balance. Why is she trying to convince Kiara of information she already knows? “Didn’t Calli mention that I needed to kiss every—”</p>
<p>“Nope,” Kiara interrupts before she could continue. “I’ve heard of absolutely no such thing.”</p>
<p>Oh, she’s using the same tone as before. Like a cat batting a mouse between its paws to see it squirm, Kiara turns her gaze back to Amelia, smile curved with mischief. </p>
<p>Ears burning, nerves sparkling alight in the dark, Amelia says each phrase disjointed like she’s bike-pumping them out. “So you don’t… you don’t know that… I…ah—” her breath fizzles out. </p>
<p>“What, Amelia? Can you speak up? I can’t hear you over this wonderfully romantic location that you picked out for us.” Kiara stomps her feet harder on the glass in emphasis.</p>
<p>Amelia clears her throat, pushes through the embarrassment. “Kiara. I need to kiss you before midnight, too. Because you’re… one of my… destined soulmates.”</p>
<p>Her face feels as hot as the molten sand. Wants to melt into a puddle as Kiara starts grinning from ear to ear, an evil glint in her eyes even with her pink cheeks.</p>
<p>“Oh my <em> goodness</em>. <em> Amelia</em>.”</p>
<p>Amelia whines, high-pitched, squeezes Kiara’s hand tighter. With both hands. “Please, Kiara, do you have to—”</p>
<p>“I had <em> no idea </em> you felt this way~!” Kiara steamrolls right over her. “I mean, I understand, everyone knows I’m totally irresistible.” She giggles, flipping her hair over a shoulder. “I’ll have you know that I am very, <em> very </em> flattered.”</p>
<p>“Just let the curse kill me now.”</p>
<p>Kiara laughs hard, pulls Amelia along before she’s able to collapse to the ground and give herself more injuries. “Don’t be so dramatic. It isn’t <em> that </em> hard to confess your undying love to someone. And I wasn’t lying when I said I was flattered, you’re incredibly sweet.”</p>
<p>The praise makes Amelia feel like a pet dog, her imaginary tail wagging. She pulls the rim of her hat down over her red face, kicking at some of the glass in the sand. “Thanks,” she mutters, “but it’s <em> embarrassing</em>. Honestly I would have been fine pining after everyone, if it meant we could all still be friends.”</p>
<p>Kiara looks at her oddly. “What? Why?”</p>
<p>“What do you mean ‘why?’”</p>
<p>“I mean. For one thing. I don’t see the point in not confessing. What’s the worst thing that could happen? Hypothetically speaking,” Kiara amends, after Amelia starts smiling too wide, scythe-like. “It just means I appreciate them for who they are in a different way. And if that changes our relationship that’s their problem.”</p>
<p>There’s history buried in the sentiment, several lifetimes of experience kerneled into the words, though she speaks them with relative ease. </p>
<p>“Logical,” Amelia supplies. Pragmatic in a way that makes her anxiety spike. “But I get it. I didn’t want our relationship to change. I guess I was too worried about the possibilities of what could have happened after.”</p>
<p>“Uh, yeah, that’s the second thing; you’re a time traveler! Can’t you confess once, get rejected, and then time travel back?” Kiara grins when Amelia starts cringing. “Orrr not. What is this, the time traveler’s code of conduct?”</p>
<p>“It’s Amelia’s code of conduct.” Amelia says dryly. “I dunno. It... kind of freaks me out, when I think that something happened, but no one else remembers it.”</p>
<p>Gura touched on it earlier; just the thought of it makes her palms sweat, spidery itch along the skin. Conversations, actions, timelines that may or may not or might have or cannot happen; they watercolor blur into one unidentifiable mass; knowing people who don’t know her, ghosting through the world and leaving no imprints. Nothing more than a passing phantom sensation.</p>
<p>Amelia swallows roughly. “No. I can’t.” Kiara makes a small ‘ahhh’ sound in understanding. “Besides, it feels weird if I come into a conversation thinking I’m going to reset, anyway. Makes me feel too… callous, towards my feelings and theirs. If I let myself get to that point...I can do anything to people and get away with no consequences.”</p>
<p>It’s too slippery of a slope; what if she starts abusing her time travel? Explore facets of people they never meant to show her. The fears feed back into each other like an ouroboros loop of downward-spiraling sanity.</p>
<p>“Spooky,” Kiara says. She had taken her shoes off while Amelia was talking, dipping her feet into the water and steaming it upon contact, creating footprints of glass as they walked along. They still hold hands, though Amelia’s had been clammy for a while. “But you can’t honestly expect me to believe you’ve never time traveled back for some stupid reason or another. What’s your tipping point, Ame?”</p>
<p>Amelia adjusts her hat with a smile, a smidge wobbly. Vulnerable. “I… I would do anything for you guys.” </p>
<p>As close to the truth as she could manage. The dull throb of her heartbeat pulsing in her ears.</p>
<p>They stop walking for a moment, waves overtaking their conversation. Kiara slowly turns to look at her. Knows too much. </p>
<p>Then Kiara sighs, exasperated, gently tugging at Amelia. “Come here. Shoes, off. I’m exhausted just listening to your mental gymnastics,” she says bluntly. “Into the water, right here so you don’t burn.”</p>
<p>Amelia only just kicks off her shoes before she’s dragged into the ocean, warm from Kiara’s flames, Kiara takes her other hand, squeezes it tight.</p>
<p>She has no idea what’s happening.</p>
<p>“Look at me. Feel my hands and the water. You’re here.”</p>
<p>“... Okay?” Amelia says, uncertain. </p>
<p>“You’re <em> here</em>,” Kiara says again, firm. “Not floating off into a bajillion timelines. Right now you’re with me. This right here matters. Okay?”</p>
<p>“...Oh.”</p>
<p>Kiara’s eyes are so bright. Determined. She could make the world stop spinning if she wanted to.</p>
<p>Amelia squeezes Kiara’s hands tighter to the point of painful but Kiara doesn’t complain. Emotion makes her eyes burn when she lets her hat cover her eyes. She inhales, exhales. Stuttering breaths. Listens to Kiara’s breathing, listens to the ocean. The saltwater, the cold, Kiara’s warmth. Even the cuts are a welcome biting sting, as long as she feels something. It’s like Amelia remembers how to settle into her skin, every sensation more vibrant. </p>
<p>“I’m good,” Amelia says, a little hoarse. “I’m good, now.”</p>
<p>Kiara looks her over. Smiles softer than usual. “I’m glad. You can’t die just yet. It’s too much of an honor to be my true love…” Kiara tilts her head, thoughtful. “One of my true loves? Whatever. You’re going to have to share me with Calli.”</p>
<p>Amelia laughs dryly, slipping on her shoes.</p>
<p>“You’re going to have to share me with everyone else, so. Fair’s fair.” Amelia means it more as a joke than anything, but regret sets in fast after she says it out loud, especially after Kiara wolf whistles at her. </p>
<p>“<em> Damn </em> Watson, you get around. Okay casanova, I see you.” </p>
<p>Amelia makes a face. “Ugh, don’t call me that. It’s not—I’m not getting <em> around</em>.” </p>
<p>“Uh huh,” Kiara says, semi-dismissive. “Whatever you say, Ame. I’m sure you care about your little harem very much.”</p>
<p>(What did Gura say <strike>this cycle</strike>? About her being honest?)</p>
<p>“I <em> do</em>,” Amelia insists. She tugs Kiara’s hand back to look at her, straight in the eye. Maybe she did need to be honest for once, because this is something that needs to be understood. </p>
<p>“You’re all really important to me. I care about everyone, and lo-like you guys in different ways, but you’re all <em> important</em>. I like you for reasons different from maybe Calli or Gura or Ina, but I... I love you for <em> you</em>.” Her voice becomes a little more desperate near the end. “You’re irreplaceable. You... know that, right?“ </p>
<p>Kiara’s looking at her a little wide-eyed. There’s a dent in the cocky and confident persona she wears like armor, like Amelia isn’t going along with her script. Like she doesn’t know what to do with the love Amelia has given. Cornered, an animal in a trap. </p>
<p>Suddenly Kiara is laughing again the next second, throwing herself against Amelia’s side, warming the blonde up 30 degrees from the phoenix heat. “Christ, Ame, chill out. I know. I’m your <em> destined soulmate </em>after all.” She flutters her eyelashes at Amelia. “You have so much love in that chest of yours, enough room for all four of us.”</p>
<p>“Love is what gives it its size,” Amelia says, past the lump in her throat, so warm as her heart breaks. Stupid, how she thought she could tilt the scale by at least a grain of sand, alleviate the centuries of trauma in a single conversation.</p>
<p>“... But,” Kiara says, cutting through all of Amelia’s thoughts. Kiara’s face is flushed, her voice is only a breath more audible than the ocean waves. “I… thanks. You’re very cute, Amelia. I care for you, too.”</p>
<p>Amelia’s heart jumps, soars, mouth breaking into an incredulous smile so wide it hurts. It’s a small omission, it barely counts for anything, but it’s the most she’s ever gotten out of her. In that moment, it meant the <em> world</em>. </p>
<p>“Appreciated,” Amelia says, still with a stupid grin on her face. “I think you’re cute too.”</p>
<p>Kiara rolls her eyes, but her cheeks are pinker. “Okay, I think we’re done here. We should get started on actually breaking the curse.”</p>
<p>Amelia lets her actions speak for her, tugs Kiara towards the center of the glass where she originally touched down. It feels a little like sacrilege, Kiara allowing her inside her defenses. From inside the structure, the world is on the other side of the looking glass, a safe cocoon. </p>
<p>Amelia reaches out, hands shaking hard, wrapping them at Kiara’s waist.</p>
<p>“At least you have <em> some </em> romantic sensibilities,” Kiara says. She tilts Amelia’s chin up, causing Amelia to shiver despite her natural warmth. There’s a tinge of hesitation in Kiara’s eyes, but also wary, cautious hope. </p>
<p>Kiara trusts her with this. Amelia grips the realization tight to her chest.</p>
<p>Amelia slowly leans in. Eyes slide shut, ocean waves and their breathing the only thing she hears, up on her tip-toes. </p>
<p>Kiara crosses the distance between them sooner than she expects. It’s a hesitant thing at first. Soft, slow, careful. Kiara’s hand slides to Amelia’s neck; her touch burns, temperature racking up from a small flame to a smoldering heat as their hesitation melts away, sand in the sun.</p>
<p>Kiara’s tongue runs along the length of Amelia’s bottom lip, playful, slipping in when Amelia’s mouth parts. </p>
<p>It scorches, like a miniature sun detonating inside her chest, fireworking off into a thousand sunbursts behind her eyelids. Amelia’s burning, she’s burning fast, and Kiara pulls away just before Amelia catches fire.</p>
<p>Kiara swears as she pats down Amelia’s smoking clothes. “Ah, verdammt, sorry. Your clothes are… very ruined.”</p>
<p>“These are probably destroyed after today.” Amelia agrees, floating on cloud nine. Her eyes flit down to Kiara’s mouth. The residual heat still lingers, and the gears turn again.</p>
<p>Kiara cocks a brow at her and smirks, tilts her head with eyes full of mischief, but the action makes her feather earring move and Amelia remembers all over again.</p>
<p>“Oh— oh shit. That’s right, I got you a gift but I left it at Gura’s. I can give it to you next time? But— but, uh.” Amelia plucks her hat off her head, and places it on top of Kiara’s. There’re new singe, burn and scuff marks on it that weren’t there this morning. “Here. This is...all I have on me right now.”</p>
<p>Kiara straightens it out, amused. “I’ll take it as tax payment. Thank you for the gift, Amelia.”</p>
<p>Amelia smiles at her, fond. “You look good with it.”</p>
<p>Kiara preens. Cups Amelia’s cheek and kisses her again, sweet. “You can continue to shower me with compliments some other time. But I think you had one last pitstop.”</p>
<p> </p>
<p>-</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“You know, you took the fact that I kissed Calli better than I thought you would,” Amelia says, as they touch down at the playground near Ina’s. Kiara gently sets her down from the bridal carry. “I was expecting to be… less alive after tonight.”</p>
<p>Kiara sucks on her teeth, fixing up Amelia’s shredded, disheveled remains of clothes. “I mean. The image isn’t bad. You’re both very beautiful, sexy women, that I would be more than okay with being sandwiched between.”</p>
<p>“... I don’t know if you know this, but I’m not actually immortal. I can’t survive a scythe to the face if you repeat that to her.”</p>
<p>“Okay, but you could survive stilettos.”</p>
<p>“Ina wouldn’t kiss me with a black eye.”</p>
<p>“Ina would kiss you no matter what your face looked like, Ame. Have Confidence.”</p>
<p>“No. No Confidence,” Amelia says with fluttering laughter. She can’t believe her body still has enough energy to shoot nervous adrenaline through her system. “You should sit down and talk to Calli,” she suggests. “I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but…”</p>
<p>Kiara blinks at her, then a part of her expression shutters. Just a degree colder. “Haven’t you had enough of confessions for one day?” she teases, but her tone allows no room for argument. “Look, you don’t need to worry about us, we’ll figure it out. Worry about your own scheisse first, mein dummkopf.”</p>
<p>Amelia reaches back out, but Kiara steps away from her reach. She fucked up. She got too cocky. Stupid, stupid— </p>
<p>“Kiara, wait—”</p>
<p>“Bye~!” Kiara says with a wink. “Think about the sandwich possibilities~!”</p>
<p>And she was gone, bursting into flame and shooting towards the stars.</p>
<p>Amelia’s...left alone. Her shoulders deflate. She kicks at a stray rock, swears at herself, pocket watch cold as a stone inside her pocket.</p><hr/>
<p>“—And <em> that </em>is how I ended up here,” Amelia finishes relaying the entire past few hours back to Ina, walking towards the playground fortress in large, exaggerated steps. It’s a stowaway corner next to Ina’s apartment, distinctly lacking people because of the time and cold. </p>
<p>“Now, it’s 11:23 PM. Items of interest include the clothes on my back and the watch in a pocket. The devilishly handsome Amelia Wat~<em> son~ </em>finally arrives at her final destination, but the mystery remains!” Amelia twirls around to face Ina, throwing her arms out.</p>
<p>“Are you sure it doesn’t hurt to move around like that?” Ina asks, brow furrowed in concern. “You look like you lost a bar fight against ten cats.”</p>
<p>Amelia waves her off. “I can hardly feel it. And this is more important. The <em> aesthetic </em>of it, I mean.”</p>
<p>Ina laughs softly, makes the adrenaline pump faster, dull the pain even more. “I’ll listen if this is important to you. I’ll carry you back when you pass out.” </p>
<p>“It’s meant for you more than me, but anyway.” Amelia spins back around on her heel. “Here are the details, my dear detective in training,” she continues, “I already <em> knew </em> the curse would kill me before you texted me, and before Calli brought it up.”</p>
<p>Ina hums and nods, brows tilting inward as she looks towards the sky, voice taking on the <em> exact </em> same theatrical flair that Amelia’s has. “But at the same time, you said that <em> I </em>was the one who told you about the curse, when the text was the first time I brought it up.”</p>
<p>“So!” Amelia says, hopping up one step at a time, up the fortress. “How did I do it? How did I know?”</p>
<p>There’s a smile at Ina’s lips, fang poking out. “Time travel, of course. And if I were to guess...we’ve already met tonight. In Watson time, I mean.”</p>
<p>Amelia claps her hands together at the very top of the fortress. “Bingo~! Lay it out for me.”</p>
<p>Ina’s full-blown grinning now. “This morning, we said that we’d play games together at my house this evening. You sent a text saying that you’d be late but that was… this cycle? But the first time you went through today, you arrived on time, and that’s when we found out about your curse.” </p>
<p>Amelia still remembers it: the various magical books in Ina’s collection scattered around Ina’s bedroom floor, stacked almost higher than them; the way Ina’s kiss was just the faintest brush of lips against hers, and how the gears spun into motion five minutes before midnight; Calli knocking solemn on Ina’s doorstep, scythe in hand; the storm brewing outside with Amelia as its center.</p>
<p>Now, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. </p>
<p>Amelia nods, satisfied. “And then I re-did it all over again! Completely perfectly, 100% cleared, no mistakes <em> at all</em>. Now that I’ve found myself back here, I’ll take my applause.” Amelia bows deep, smile faltering when Ina only polite claps for her performance. </p>
<p>She makes a questioning sort of sound, looking up at Amelia. “Is that what those wounds are? The marks of a 100% clear?”</p>
<p>“There were mild hiccups here and there, I omitted a few things. But everything went well for the most part.”</p>
<p>White clouds unfurl around Ina’s exhale. “But detective, I think those omitted things are <em> very </em> important. You’re missing a few key details in your play-by-play.” </p>
<p>Amelia scoots down the slide to meet with her, hand a checkmark beneath her chin. “Oh yeah? And what’s that?”</p>
<p>Ina leans against the side of the slide. “How many time loops did you <em> actually </em> go through to make sure everything went off without a hitch?”</p>
<p>Amelia freezes, just slightly. She knew she wouldn’t get away with it, Ina would never let her get away with it. “Uhm. You’re going to need to provide evidence for that claim.”</p>
<p>Ina raises a brow before leaning in close, faces inches apart. “You want me to believe you just <em> happened </em> to be carrying around your gifts? Happened to know what exactly to get everyone? Just <em> knew </em>what wine Calli wanted to try, didn’t fumble a few times—” </p>
<p>Amelia pulls back, ears burning hot. “Okay, okay, I’ve got it. You’ve made your point.”</p>
<p>“So how many iterations, Amelia?” Ina asks. There’s a calculative look about her, one Amelia can’t read. She gets a distinct feeling like she just blindly stepped onto a field of landmines, a trap she’s not seeing.</p>
<p>“That’s… hard to say. The watch is broken,” Amelia says slowly. “And the curse— The curse resets with every one of <em> my </em>resets. So I needed to see everyone all in one timeline, and the watch kept sending me back later in the day than I wanted it to.”</p>
<p>The watch being broken is only true by technicality, but it’s the easiest shortcut explanation. It’s genetically and physically locked to her, a property of the Watson bloodline itself. The curse hijacked that innate connection she had, her time jumping inaccurate in a way it had never been since her childhood, and today it refused to cooperate at all, spinning her back to 7PM on the dot with every reset. It wasn’t broken, but the connection between her and the device was faint enough that it might as well have been.</p>
<p>Amelia rubs her hands together. “I think it went something like this…”</p>
<p>The first cycle was learning about the curse with Ina, and learning about the peculiarities of the curse after she resets. The second cycle she went to Ina’s, again, was nearly snapped in half by a falling tree. Tries again; Ina, avoids the trees, a different road, forgets about the construction site. Once more, towards Ina’s house. Takes every careful alleyway possible, away from the main streets, and falls into a city grate.</p>
<p>A different approach: Kiara first a few times. Calls her. The words never came out right, stumbling and flubbering, the kiss happened anyway, after Amelia resigned herself to the fact that Kiara wasn’t going to budge. But Calli was too aloof following her kiss with Kiara, every single reset, so she tries again, hits her stride when the reaper shows up to say hello after an unfortunate stabbing. Resets again Calli but she mentions wine so another reset for the gifts, another few resets for all the gifts, and then resetting over, over, and over again just to get everything righ—</p>
<p>“Stop. Stop. Just… stop,” Ina says, two fingers against the ridge of her brow like she’s nursing a headache, before Amelia makes it even half-way through the endless resets. “Why… why are you running around like this is an otome game?”</p>
<p>Amelia stares at her. Uncomprehending. “What?”</p>
<p>“All you had to do was <em> ask</em>, Ame. You could have stayed at your house, and we could have come to you. No one would have cared.” </p>
<p>“I guess?” she says, more like a question. “And what, just— relay kiss you guys? Would anyone have actually <em> done </em>that? What the hell’s the point of that?”</p>
<p>Ina’s eyes narrow a fraction. “What’s the point?<em>" </em>Her voice takes on an edge. “What’s the <em> point </em> in saving your life? Do you realize what you’re asking me right now?”</p>
<p>Amelia’s hackles rise. Tendrils of frustration and panic wrap around her ribs, heartbeat a hammer in her skull. She didn’t want to have this confrontation with Ina. Not tonight, not ever.</p>
<p>“I’m here <em> now</em>,” she says, a sliver more snappish, more impatient than she intends, and immediately regretting her tone. She forces herself to relax. “I’m— I’m fine. I promise. Everyone else is—  I think they’re okay, too, Nothing bad happened.” </p>
<p>The tendon in Ina’s jaw tenses, and those tendrils squeezing her midsection hold tighter. Ears ring from the pressure.</p>
<p>Ina visibly works her way down from that edge, fingers loosening from a fist as she takes deep breath. “I’m a little upset,” she says, quiet. “You hate using your time travel this way. You hate feeling like you’re stranded in time. And now you’re telling me you can’t even remember how many times you reset the past few hours.”</p>
<p>The world feels like it’s sliding out from underneath Amelia’s feet.</p>
<p>“I do hate it,” Amelia whispers. “I hate it so much I can’t stand it. So many memories that I can’t keep track of what’s real and what isn’t.”</p>
<p>She flinches when Ina sits down next to her and holds her hand, a tether. “Help me understand,” Ina says. “Why go through all this trouble when it hurts you so much?”</p>
<p>Because Calli wasn’t listening to her. Because Gura looked sad, Amelia couldn’t find the words, and because Kiara wasn’t opening up, and Amelia’s heart was being wood-carved whittled down every time she recited the same dialogue options like a shitty actor on a decrepit stage.</p>
<p>Because at the end of the day, soulmates and true loves were human inventions. </p>
<p>Did the others understand the full gravity of those words? Soulmates, true loves, defined in human terms. How does her lifetime compare to Calli’s eternity? Her odd sixty, seventy, eighty years left are the span of a breath in and out compared to Gura’s centuries, a blink-and-you-miss-it, and Kiara’s died so many times she’s lost count— Amelia’s never died even <em> once</em>. </p>
<p>For all of Amelia’s abilities, does Ina recognize that Amelia is only human? </p>
<p>Amelia is only human. She only has human love to give. Sometimes that was most damning of all, because sometimes it didn’t feel like it was enough. So many lifetimes, so many failures. None of it ever seems to amount to enough.</p>
<p>Amelia’s eyes burn. She drags an arm over her eyes, fragments together a smile. It’s too cracked and too revealing, but Ina always deserved more than she could give. “I… I don’t have a lot of time to spend with everyone. I know this. I have to make what time I have count. I can make things <em> better</em>.”</p>
<p>It’s been too many cycles. Every single one of her walls is broken down, emotions stinging like salt on an open wound, pulsing bright and loud through the rubble of her defenses. Gently, she collapses onto the slide, numb to the cold of the metal. There aren’t any stars here.</p>
<p>“I’m too human. And you guys deserve so much more.” </p>
<p>Ina stares at her, eyes unreadable, the cogs in her mind turning. It makes Amelia feel like she’s being examined by some ancient god, and slowly, slowly. Ina exhales. </p>
<p>“Okay. I understand. I’m still frustrated with how you approached this situation. But I understand.”</p>
<p>“I’m glad that my angst is digestible for an outside audience.”</p>
<p>Ina smooths a hand through Amelia’s hair, quieting her. “We are going to do a thought exercise. Because there’s something you’re missing, my dear detective. Something very, very obvious.”</p>
<p>She taps her foot against Amelia’s, pushing herself up off the slide and clearing her throat. Ina puts on the same theatrical tone they used earlier, marching back and forth as she speaks. </p>
<p>“Let’s set the scene. It’s the year 1890, location set in an odd, gothic church building unmarked on any map. Enter... Jane Doe-Tako. She’s only had the necronomicon for a few months, and the migraines and body aches are unbearable.”</p>
<p>Ina starts climbing the playground fortress as Amelia did, the structure vibrating with each small hop. “Enter Amelia Watson, knocking right on the church’s doors. Self-proclaimed number one time traveling detective. The other cultists didn’t like you at first, how you found our sacred location and kept your brain unscrambled.”</p>
<p>Amelia looks up at her. “I think that had more to do with Jane Doe-Tako than with me. I have a <em> lot </em>of mental defenses.”</p>
<p>Ina shakes her head. ”Maybe a future Jane Doe-Tako, but not this one. She didn’t have a solid enough grasp on her powers at that time to be around people without mentally damaging their psyche.” Ina taps her temple, leaning on the bridge railing. “Especially with the voices and migraines.”</p>
<p>A light breeze runs through the clearing, brushing against Ina’s hair. “Amelia Watson approaches Jane Doe-Tako, friendship striking quickly between the two over the course of several weeks. You offer advice that I don’t always question. Coffee. Sweets. Incantations. Band-aid solutions. I was too volatile for them to be effective. Then one day you come back with medication that wouldn’t be in public circulation until 1915, and modern equipment to make the drugs ourselves.”</p>
<p>“Fucking aspirin.” Amelia scrubs a hand across her face. “I’m not sure I want to be reminded of the time we turned your church into a drug den, half-dependent on aspirin and opiates.”</p>
<p>Those were dazed, hazy weeks. At the time she was half as wrecked as Ina, seeing ghosts of people of different timelines overlaid on top of her reality when she blinked. Her hands trembled when she thought about jumping through time, when she even held her watch. So after she jumped back, she just stayed, beguiling its denizens into putting up with her shacking with the priestess, especially since the “remedies” she brought helped. </p>
<p>“<em> Listen to me</em>,” Ina says, exasperated. “The drugs helped, yes, and there was a dependency issue, <em> yes</em>, but it was the best we could have done at the time. What else stuck with you?”</p>
<p>Amelia drums her fingers against the slide, the sound like falling rain. Nights dragged into mornings into nights, perfecting their little drug experiments, Amelia talking herself hoarse explaining the synthetic chemical reactions at the altar, Ina nodding along, tentacles writhing and pulsing along the church’s pews, nails leaving bloodied moon crescents in her arms, wrestling for control over her mind and body.</p>
<p>A slow, tired smile appears on Amelia’s face. “You. Always you. How you fought through the pain, through its influence.”</p>
<p>Ina rests her head in her arms, supported by the railing. The moon glows behind her, frames her like a halo, but her eyes outshine it. “I was… at the brink. Of doing something rash. The voices were excruciating, and the idea of power just at my fingertips… intoxicating.” She takes a deep breath. “The sound of your voice cut through it all. You picked yourself back up, no matter how far you fell. And you kept trying.” </p>
<p>Ina looks down towards her. The world holds its breath. “You keep me sane, Amelia. <em> You </em> are my anchor. You remind me what it means to be human. I cling to your humanity so much more than you realize, and I can guarantee that everyone else feels the same way.”</p>
<p>Ina’s smile pries Amelia open; a gentle, surgical procedure, coring her like a fruit. </p>
<p>“We love you as you are, because who you are is <em> enough</em>.”</p>
<p>...Oh.</p>
<p>“Oh.” Amelia says, faintly. Her face starts burning hot, that peach pit in her throat impossible to ignore. “Oh, okay.”</p>
<p>Ina sighs. “Ame, you—” And she’s sliding down the other slide, elbowing Amelia’s ribs—  hard!—  as she comes down.</p>
<p>“We never wanted, or needed you to be perfect. You’re fine the way you are.”</p>
<p>“But everyone’s so <em> hurt</em>,” Amelia says, voice hoarse. “Hurt by things that I won’t ever experience, not on their level. And I just feel so fucking useless.”</p>
<p>“I know,” Ina says, softly. “I know how much you care. But you can’t expect to shoulder the weight of this, when the burdens they carry have outlived the fall of civilizations. This is something that they, that we, have to overcome on our own.” </p>
<p>The words sting when they come out of Amelia’s mouth. “Because I won’t be here forever.”</p>
<p>Ina keeps her gaze steady. “And we stay with you anyways. It hurts me more to see you tear yourself open for this. Relationships are a two-way street, love. You have to trust us, like we trust you.” </p>
<p>Tears blur the world in watercolor. Amelia swipes a sleeve over her face with a wet laugh. “When did you get so good at this? Were you always so good at this?”</p>
<p>Arms wrap around her, warm, comforting, squeezing tight. “I’m human, too.”</p>
<p>Those words make the dam break. The peach pit in Amelia’s throat splits apart.</p>
<p>Ina holds Amelia tight as she sobs, wails. Every emotion is a tidal wave pouring out of her, throat burning like fire, heart stinging fresh like a knife-wound, lungs aching like she can’t come up for air, and Ina stands with her, a solid foundation as she cries herself raw, lets loose. The stress of the day, the frantic hours of frustration, the insecurities mounting, the failures cutting straight through her core. The burden of humanity.</p>
<p>Amelia’s not sure how much time passes while she’s held. Enough time that her choked sobbing dulls to hoarse hiccups, Ina stroking her hair when she returns heavy to her body. In the morning, she’ll feel the full weight of her display and knows she’ll feel embarrassed, but as of that moment, she’s too exhausted to care.</p>
<p>“Kiara and Calli will be fine,” Ina says, gently. “They always are, and they’ll be okay by the time you see them next.”</p>
<p>Amelia nods into Ina’s chest, the woman’s heartbeat doubling as her own lifeline. Her eyes are red-rimmed and swollen, irritated from the rubbing. “I… wish I could have done better. But you’re right. This is something we have to learn to navigate together.”</p>
<p>“Now you get to live with your actions like the rest of us,” Ina jokes. </p>
<p>Amelia offers a small, tired laugh. “I guess so. You’re right, like always.”</p>
<p>“I know I am.” A little smug. </p>
<p>Amelia exhales a heavy breath into Ina’s chest, half of a laugh. “What time is it?”</p>
<p>“Mmh, five minutes until midnight. I’ve been keeping an eye on it.”</p>
<p>Amelia hums in acknowledgment, slowly pulling herself away from Ina’s warmth. “I told you how I got everyone gifts, right? I wanted to give you a magic 8 ball. Calli said it was cursed and gave it to me a few weeks back, but I forgot it at Gura’s. I don’t have much else to give you… except…”</p>
<p>She unclips the hairpin from her hair. It’s a little beaten up, a little burned at the edges, but Ina looks at it with utter adoration. She bows down for Amelia to clip it on her, right underneath her flap.</p>
<p>“I’ll wear it like a crown.” Ina grins at her, and somehow, Amelia’s heart still has the energy to make itself known against her ribs. “Thank you, Ame.”</p>
<p>“It’s the least I can do after I cried all over you.” Amelia clears her throat. “So. Would you do me the honor of putting this curse to its grave?”</p>
<p>Ina’s hand slides over her cheek, thumb brushing underneath Amelia’s eyes. “The honor is mine.”</p>
<p>Amelia inhales, shaky, air uncooperative as Ina leans in. And Amelia closes the distance.</p>
<p>Kissing Ina is a different kind of warmth. Like blankets in winter and hot chocolate on snow days, familiarity and comfort of midnight conversations, laying together underneath the stars until the sun rises.</p>
<p>Amelia presses closer, Ina’s giggle bubbling against her lips.</p>
<p>Kissing Ina… it feels a lot like coming home. The final gear slots into place, spins back into motion, and the weight finally lifts from Amelia’s shoulders. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>EDIT: @rain_wander drew lovely fanart on <a href="https://twitter.com/rain_wander/status/1363650938511196163?s=20">twitter </a>for amesame!<br/>@640p_ also drew wonderful fanart, which you can find  <a href="https://twitter.com/DEAD640p_/status/1370505097277534213?s=20">here</a>!<br/><br/>Go check these two out! :D<br/><br/>Songs:<br/><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPedH9B8AAE">Walk The Moon - Tightrope</a><br/><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3iSnJ663II">TXT’s - Crown</a><br/><br/>Truthfully this was kind of difficult to write. Major, major writer’s block all around. And honestly, I’m still not… as happy with it as I’d like to be, but this fic is never seeing the light of day if I delay it any longer. And I learned a lot from writing it, so it buffs out.</p>
<p>Thanks, as always, to k_morpho. They’re the ones who pushed me to make the sections stronger. They played a huge role in acting as a soundboard and just helping me work through my thoughts on this fic. And thank you to matchasnow who convinced me to just post the darn thing, lol. Incredibly appreciative, my friends. &lt;3</p>
<p>If you made it this far, thank you! It really does mean a lot, esp. with how much I struggled on this thing. My personal feelings aside, I hope you had fun reading. And if you’re not shy, kudos and comments restore the heart.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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